ICE First Look at Mortgage Performance: December 2025
Industry Update
January 26, 2026
Source: ICE Mortgage Technology
ICE Mortgage Technology, neutral provider of a robust end-to-end mortgage platform and part of Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. (NYSE: ICE), today released the December 2025 ICE First Look at mortgage delinquency, foreclosure and prepayment trends.
“December’s numbers show that lower interest rates drove refinance activity and prepayments to near multi-year highs,” said Andy Walden, Head of Mortgage and Housing Market Research at ICE. “At the same time, there was a divergence in delinquency trends, with early-stage delinquencies improving and late-stage delinquencies continuing to rise. Foreclosure activity also increased, driven mainly by FHA and VA loans.”
Key takeaways from this month’s findings include:
Early-stage delinquencies improved: The national delinquency rate fell by 16 basis points (bps) in December to 3.68% following November’s calendar related high. This is down 3 bps from the same time last year and 26 bps below the December 2019 pre-pandemic benchmark.
Late-stage delinquencies reached a near two-year high: While earlier-stage delinquencies (30- and 60-day) improved in December, late-stage delinquencies (90+ day) increased by 30,000, reaching their highest level in nearly three years and standing 19,000 above last year’s level.
Prepayments remain robust: The single month mortality (SMM) rate, which tracks prepayments, rose by 8 bps in December to 0.91%, just 10 bps shy of the October 3.5-year high. Lower interest rates have improved affordability and spurred refinance activity.
Foreclosure activity trending upward: December’s 40,000 foreclosure starts marks the third highest monthly volume in 2025, up 28% from the year before. Foreclosure inventory is up by 47,000 (+25%) year over year, and foreclosure sales have increased by 2,100 (+41%) from last year’s levels.
Government loans driving foreclosure growth: While foreclosure activity remains muted by historical standards, the number of loans in active foreclosure again hit its highest level since early 2023, driven by a notable rise in FHA foreclosures (+59% YoY) along with a resumption of VA activity following last year’s moratorium.
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